Wave-motor.



No. 852,232. PATENTED APR. 30, E. KOHLER.

WAVE MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. so. 1906.

' s SHEEN-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES:

852,232. PATENTED APR. 30, 1907.

- B. KOHLERP WAVE MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 20, 1006.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' INVENTOR I M WITNESSES:

No. 852,281 PATENTED APR 30, 1907. B. KOHLER. WAVE MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED 'NOV.20,1906.

IN VENTOR UNITED STATES Pd'liliitl *r or ERNEST KOIILER, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

WAVEl-MOTOR.

Specification of Letters latent.

Patented April 30, 1907.

Application filed November 20, 1906. Serial No. 344,193.

t My invention relates to wave motors. its

object is to provide a simple, practical apparatus for conserving and utilizing the energy of the waves; and especially for converting Wave energy into electrical energy for producing light, or for operating machines and industries of various kinds.

T'ie invention consists of the parts and the construction and combination of parts as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, having relerenee to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of my wave motor, partly'in section. Fig. 2 is a plan view, showing general arrangement oldna chinery. Fig. 3 shows a mmlified form for operating the bell. l ig. et is a plan view of casting 3. Fig. 5 shows general arrangement of a power station. Fig. (i is a plan view of same. i

A represents a suitable platform or base supporting the iron post or column or tower This structure rests upon the botton where the apparatus is to be located, and the base is firmly anchored in suitable foundations, which ordinarily will he a rocky roof or other substantial support.

Column 2 is preferably composed of heavy channel irons and the parts are braced and made sulliciently strong and rigid to with stand the heaviest seas. Surrounding the central column or pillar 55, and slidable up and down thereon is a buoy or lloat 3 which has a shaft or stem '-l connected with it and extending up inside of the, column and the casil'ig 5, which latter houses The machinery.

The casing 5 is lixedly mounted on a platform. supported on. the column and disposed above the range of action of the waves. The lloat I; may be of any suitable construction. As here shown it comprises a sheet metal annulus clamped between the two castings 3 by means of the bolts 3. The float has a free up and down sliding movement on the flanges of the column 2 by virtue of the. rollers 6, the axles of which are jonrnalcd in the brackets 7 of the castings The rod 4- l l I l is .laslened securely to the float and its upper end l'll'lllllltli-CS in the rack 4., which operates as the limit rises and falls on the gear 8 suit ably journaled in the casing 5.

The gear Soperates through its shaft and suitable clutch mechanism 9 to actuate a gear 10 which meshes a gear 11 on the crankshalt ol' the air compressor 12.

6 is a guide roller acting onthe rack to and charged to a certain pressure and carrying a suflicient supply, so that if the, waves are temporarily quiet, there will be a sufiicient pressure maintained in the reservoirs to continue the operation oi the mechanism or machineryadapted to be run by the appa ratus. 14 represents a pressure gage and 15 a safety valve. The casing which forms a housing for the mechanism is )IOVldGCl' with one or more closures or manholes 5, through which access maybe had to the interior of the casing. The energy thus stored in the reservoirs may be. utilized for any desired purpose. In the present instance I have shown the apparatus adapted to operate a signal light 16, and a. warning bell 17. The light is o erated through suitable connection from the ynamo 18 which may be run from the tiu'bine 19; power to run the turbine being furnished by the air pressure in the reservoirs.

The lights may be arranged in any suit able manner, and there may be interposed in the electric lighting circuit the usual circuit breaker 2D and voltage regulator 21: The bell may be operated automatically by a. variety of ways. In the present instance I have shown the bell as being sounded according as the float rises and falls by means of the cord 22 attached to the top of the rod 4, and passing over guide pulleys 2324-25 A: 26, and having a weight 27 attached to its other end. The pulley .24 is provided with a series of pins '28 which act on the lever 29 to oscillate the bell and cause its hammer to sound the bell.

In Fig. 3 l. have indicated a modification of the means for operating the bell in which the turbine shaft has a worm 30 to engage a. corresponding gear 31. The shaft of this gear carries a pulley around which passes a rope or be t 22 to an upper pulley 24, which latter is providedv with pins 25. These pins 25 engage a lever-arm 29 to sound the bell in the manner already described.

Where this invention is to be used for generating ower for commercial purposes, I employ t e same principle of construction as will be seen by reference to Fig. 1. In this case though I may employ a multiple unit arrangement with'a plurality of masts 2', each provided with its individual float 34, and each float operating its individual compressor; the air supply from the several compressors leading to a common air trunk 32, which runs to the main land where the Various storage reservoirs 13 and motors 19 are located.

The supporting structure for the compressors and exposed mechanism is sufficient to withstand the strain and bufleting to 1 which the apparatus may be subjected.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to securr by Letters Patent is- 1. A wave-motor comprising a suitably supported vertical channel-iron-columu, a float slidably mounted on said column and having grooved rollers engaging the flanges of the column, said float comprising a buoyant annulus clamped between separable castings which surround the column and carry said rollers, and mechanism with operative connection with the float for storing the energy generated by the; rise and all of the float. l i

2. A wave-motor comprising a suitably supported vertical column, a float slidably mo inted thereon, a platform supported on the column above the float, said that comprising a buoyant annulus clamped between separable castings which surround the column, a rack-bar connected with the float, a gear mounted on said platform and engageable by said rack, said gear having a shaft, a loose-gear on said shaft, clutch-mechanism. for intermittently locking said loose gear to the shaft, an air-compress)! operably connected with said loose-gear, and means on the platform for storin the energy generated by said compressor.

3. In a waveunotor, a plurality of fixedly supported vertical columns carrying a platform, a float slid able on each of said columns, said float comprising a buoyant annulus clamped between separable castings which surround the column, an aircompressor corresponding to each float mounted on said platform, means'connected with the float for operating said compressors, a main-servicepipe receiving the compressed-air from said compressors, a series of connected reservoirs connected with said service-pipe, and motors operated by the energy stored in said reservoirs.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

- ERNEST KOHLER. Witnesses:

JonN KUHL, Jonn OAKES. 

